There's an expression in Haiti: Behind the mountains are the mountains, the Rev. John Talbird says.
"It really means 'one thing after another,' 'one hurdle after the other,'" Mr. Talbird said Thursday during a Rotary Club luncheon at the Convention Center.
It's an especially appropriate expression, he said, after the devastating earthquake that struck the Caribbean country two months ago, killing more than 200,000 and leaving more than 1 million homeless.
Mr. Talbird, a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lookout Mountain, arrived in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince hours before the earthquake struck on Jan. 12, but he emerged safely.
His presentation Thursday was to raise awareness of the continuous needs of a country slightly smaller than Maryland where 80 percent of the population lived below the poverty level prior to the 7.0-magnitude quake, said Downtown Rotary Club of Chattanooga member Fred Robinson.
"With the earthquake in Chile, it's pretty easy to think some of the focus will be shifting away from the emergency in Haiti," said Mr. Robinson, also member of the Church of the Good Shepherd. "Even though the tragedy was awful there, the loss of life was so much less than in Haiti and their resources to cope with it are so much greater."
On Feb. 27, Chile was hit by an 8.8-magnitude quake but, because earthquakes are common in Chile, the country has strict building standards and the amount of damage was smaller and killed about 500 people. Three major quakes also hit Chile on Thursday, the largest at 6.9 magnitude, but
damage and deaths were limited, The Associated Press reported.
Mr. Talbird returned to Tennessee after the Haitian earthquake, but went back to Leogane, a town 18 miles west of Port-au-Prince, to assess the ongoing needs.
"There are multiple needs for everything," he said, "but just as the rainy season begins to start, housing and sanitation are absolutely crucial."
Mr. Talbird got involved with Haiti in 1995 when the Church of the Good Shepherd, where he was the rector, built a school in Petit Harpon, a small village near Leogane.
Several local Rotary clubs have projects in Haiti related to water. The Downtown Rotary Club had a project in which water filters were installed, Mr. Robinson said. The North River Rotary Club has been repairing and replacing well pumps in the Leogane area for the past four years, according to Tom Kale, disaster response chairman for the club.
ABOUT THE REV. JOHN TALBIRD
* Missioner for the Episcopal Churches in Southeast Tennessee
* Grew up in Macon, Ga.
* Received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Georgia and a master's of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary
* Retired as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lookout Mountain
* Member of the board of the local Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti.
* Married to Mary Jane Misiewicz and has five grown children and one grandchild.
Source: Downtown Rotary Club of Chattanooga
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL FUND
* To make a $5 donation, text ROTARY to 90999 or visit www.rotary.org.
* Donations also can be made to www.shelterboxusa.org, a Rotary grass-roots effort that provides a self-contained emergency shelter kit for 10 people, including a tent, blankets, stove, utensils and water purification tablets.